antifreeze?

[mdidomenico]

next weekend i plan to winterize my engine ('89 m25-xp) and pull the hot water heater out.  in doing so i'm bound to lose some of the coolant from the system.  figuring this, i assumed i could just grab a jug of coolant at west marine when i was there to get my winterizing stuff.  to my surprise it doesn't look like they sell any, nor does defender as far as i can tell.  i searched around on the msg board and manuals.  while there are a lot of posts about antifreeze and it's replacement steps, i couldn't find anyone that said 'i use this <insert brand>' or i missed it.  though i did find several that said not to use dexcool (never seen that, but i'll steer clear)

any suggestions?

[sailaway]

  Don't understand about the engine antifrezze just the fresh water . I unhook the fresh water from the hot water tank.. bypass the hot water tank then run pink antifrezze threw the water system into the faucets  Charlie

[patrice]

Hi,
If you re referring to the engine side.
It is standard "prestone" that you will find at any autopart store.

[Noah]

Engine: dilute automotive antifreeze 50% with water or buy prediluted.

[KWKloeber]

I would just stick with a national brand -- it about as critical as whether you fill up Mobil or Sunoco or BP, or.....

Stick with whichever flavor antifreeze you used last time -- i.e. if she has ethylene glycol use that, if eco-friendy propylene glycol (e.g., LowTox Prestone or Sierra brand) then use that one again.   
How long has it been since the full coolant change -- it does break down.  Is it time for a flush and refill?

Check the protection level with a tester.  Note that if you have propylene glycol, it needs a different tester than for ethy glycol (because its specific gravity is different.)  Thexton makes one (AutoZone online, Amazon, etc.)  Or with a refractometer (one does all types of antifreeze.).

Don't use the (orange) DexCool.

ken

[mdidomenico]

Stick with whichever flavor antifreeze you used last time -- i.e. if she has ethylene glycol use that, if eco-friendy propylene glycol (e.g., LowTox Prestone or Sierra brand) then use that one again.   
How long has it been since the full coolant change -- it does break down.  Is it time for a flush and refill?

i know it's been at least 4 yrs since the previous owner changed it, since it was up on the hard that long.  i have no idea, but i suspect it was even longer then that since a full service was done.  the antifreeze i can see under the cap is green, so i figured it was regular prestone, but i wanted to make sure.  i'm definitely going to change all the fluids out in the spring.

[Stu Jackson]

And when you replace it:

Engine Overheating 101 - How to Burp Your Engine (Reply #6)  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4518.msg26462.html#msg26462

[Ron Hill]

Mdid : As Ken said use a national brand like Prestone and mix it to 50% or buy the 50% pre mixed.

What you want is the "water-pump lub" and the "rust inhibitor" additives -- beside the lower freezing level for winter.

A thought

[KWKloeber]

the antifreeze i can see under the cap is green, so i figured it was regular prestone...... 

i'm definitely going to change all the fluids out in the spring.

The color isn't an accurate indicator of the type (PG vs EG) -- they can both be green.

Ron also recalls me something that I forgot to mention.  There are different technologies on the additives.  IOT, OAT, HOAT, NOAT. 

These are not necessarily compatible, but some are.  IIWMB, I'd either:

For now, use the same type (EG or PG) AND BRAND that's in there.
Change out the coolant, flush, and maintain using one brand.

ken

<edit> PS:
Just for example, both Peak Sierra and Prestone LowTox PG are dyed green (like most EGs,) Amsoil PG is dyed yellow.

JTSO, PG is the preferred antifreeze w/o referencing all the reasons -- others' mileage may vary.

[mdidomenico]

The color isn't an accurate indicator of the type (PG vs EG) -- they can both be green.

Ah, i didn't know that.  Since i have no idea what's in there now and i only need it to last over the winter, is there something better to use rather then prestone just to make up the loss.  the engine will not run through the winter, I'm up on the hard in NJ.  in the spring i plan to change out all the fluids and hoses.  the only thing i planned to do before the winter is flush out the raw water loop from when i ran the engine during survey.  if it were up to me i wouldn't even be messing with the fresh water side, but i have to get the water heater and rotten/flakey hoses out of the bilge to keep scrubbing it.

[KWKloeber]

I don't really understand what you are doing?  Removing the WH to clean the bilge?

If you do it right/carefully you shouldn't loose any more than a cup of AF (other than what's in the WH itself, and you should be able to capture back most of that.) 

In fact you could drain/capture nearly all the AF, do whatever you're doing, and then refill with the same AF.  Seems a waste of effort when you could (or can't you?) flush and change the AF while doing whatever you are trying to accomplish.
In the absence of more specific info, I guess if there's any question on mixing with what's in there, just leave it down a little until you change the AF in the spring.

ken

[mdidomenico]

i may have misspoke slightly in my description.  i need to remove the water heater because it doesn't work and i need to clean the area under the sink anyway.  but as an aside the water heater hoses droop down and route through the access area of the aft most bilge compartment.  try as i might i can't get my hand through the small access hole with the hoses in the way, in order to clean out the sludge

i think i'll try to capture whatever drips out as best i can and leave it a smidgen low for the winter.  i get the sense that mixing antifreeze is a bad idea and since i have no idea what's in their now, this sounds like the safest option.

the attached picture isn't the aft bilge compartment, but it's representative of what i'm cleaning out.  it cleans up fairly easy with simple green, but it's stinky and icky so getting as much out as i can is my goal, even if that means removing other stuff.

[KWKloeber]

Ok.  I presume that you are disconnecting the hoses at (someplace?) and replacing the WH in the spring? 
Even if not replacing it, and just tying the lines back together, if you pinch off the hoses you won't lose any on the engine side of the pinch, and can capture all the coolant on the WH side of the pinches.   

If you wanted to loose absolutely *none*, just drain a good bit out of the engine, blow coolant back thru the WH to the block, cap off the lines, and refill the block with what you drained. (You should end up with an excess of coolant.)  That's one way to skin the cat but there's other ways to not lose any coolant.  it's just how you approach it and/or capture it without *bilging* it.

ken

[mdidomenico]

thanks, that sounds like a good plan of attack.  i'll give it a whirl this weekend and see how it goes.  hopefully i won't make more work for myself.

[Ron Hill]

MDID : From the looks of your picture it appears that someone (PO?) left the dipstick out of the engine or unseated while it was running!!

If you are planning on keeping your boat for the next few years here's what I would do:
If you have the original 1989 water heater (it's 28 years old!!) - I consider replacing it with a new one after you take out the old one for your cleaning job.
Also I'd drain all of the old antifreeze (blow out the lines) to get all of it out, then flush and refill with 50% mix Prestone.  Then you'll start fresh and know what's in the cooling system.

A few thoughts